Your Not Editing, If Your Not Making Mistakes

A few months into my postproduction hiatus and I have realized something that has change in me in the last few years. I'm really comfortable with being wrong.

So, as I stated in my previous post that I was going to pay the bills the old fashion film ways; union film lighting. As I rubbed shoulder with my union brothers and catch up on old times, as we move big gear on big movies, I realize that there is this weird pressure to hit "perfection" on the first attempt at something. Having not done Big Budget shooting for about 8 years and some of the lightning equipment has evolved; so, I was a little rusty. No major mistakes that you get a nickname over or anything, but little things, little mistakes were made by myself. My bad.

I was surprised how people were quick to try to locate the offender but I was even quicker with my hand up to take responsibility for my faux pas and confortable doing it. Sometimes I would get friendly ribbing from people that now that I was just getting back into the swing of things. But sometimes, I would get disapproving glares, comments that were intended to induce some form of shame or even the mini speech about how it is done from younger members that didn't know me.

At the beginning I thought is was comical, then I was annoyed at why are we wasting time breaking down the mistake, then I thought about how film works; it is all about mistakes and adjustments. And most of the time things that were made a "big" deal out of turned out to be something that changed in the end like most things in the film world. I started thinking about why am I so un-phased about making a mistake.

Editing is making mistakes many times on an hourly basis. And over the years, I have noticed that if I don't just start making mistakes or editing, I develop editors block. So, I make the mistake and know that I'll come back to fix it later. I have gotten very comfortable with mistakes. For example, I think I nailed the essence of the cut and/or the director or producer points out key plot point that's not in the screener. My bad, I cut it out when I was trying to make the edit air tight for pacing. Or even better, I am at a show and tell with ad agency and don't like any of the 12 versions of the spot, technically my mistake. My Bad. I got a millions of these... Feel free to comment with your mistake stories. To quote Deniro in Cape Fear, "... Reminds you your human"

Conclusion. If you can't deal with making mistakes, editing is not for you.

Boba Ferris Bueller or Hanging up my Blaster for 6 Months

Sometimes you have to look back to go forward. Some wise words from Ferris himself.

Time to take a break from editing JOBS.

I have in the last year been involved in a few great projects but the volume of exciting/challenging projects has deminished. Leaving me a little "dry" creatively. Leaving me with just JOBS.

No, I am not retiring or moving on to greener pastures. I can't. Movies are the greenest pasture that I know but since my daugter has arrived, Laila, I have decided to take 6 months to really look back, rebuild and reasses my editing future's direction.

I have always been Boba Fett aka a Freelancer and after recently going on many job interviews in corporate/broadcast post. I realize that I will always be Bobba Fett; don't think that my creative energy fits in that box.

So, for the next little while I will be putting my Blaster up on the wall, rebuilding my Lair (office space) and keep my ears and eyes open for the next big Bounty (media project).

FYI. For the next little while my post will be updates on my rebuilding of my "BatCave", No Spoilers post and some of my regular film perspective rants about life on set since I will be doing some Film Union Lighting technician work to pay the bills during my Hiatus. 

No Spoilers Episode 3: Point Blank, Lee Marvin & Hard Hitting Cuts.

Any Tom, Dick & Harriette can continuity cut, takes a master editor/filmmaker to edit in a variety of styles. I stumbled on this great piece of filmmaking as I was digging throught the crates (aka DVD collections) as I prepare to re-design my home office and update my gear. POINT BLANK directed by John Boorman, edited by Henry Berman.

I won't pretend to remember all the different style names from my Film Aestetics Class I took in the 90's but POINT BLANK uses a mixture of techniques that should be watched again and again.

There is what I call a time-matchcuts that break the timeline of the film, smash-cut flashbacks and a great opening title sequence that echoes the main characters mood, imagine being in the mind of an angry Lee Marvin. My Favorite is the Time shifted editing; using dialogue or sounds from other scenes that span the movie timeline. Hard to describe but It's that Steven Soderbergh Limey style like montage sequences (which he admitily inspired the style of The Limey; haven't seen that one, that is another one to watch again and again)

I think this is one of the hardest techniques since it's like pig latin of filmmaking. It's a variation on the film language. So, you have to teach the audience the new languge code with limited time without loosing them. It is not for the faint of heart because your playing with fire. If you do it and it fails you lost your audiences trust and probably their interest. Point Blank succeds in not loosing you, as it jumps around aggressively, very echoing the protagonist.

I know your saying, this movie or that movie does that even better but this was before non-linear editing, made on a movieola or a Steinbeck. Imagine editing Momento, Pulp Fiction, The Limey... I takes a cetain determination and coincidentaly a Lee Marvin like resolve to introduce this style of filmmaking in those technical conditions.

I won't say that it goes on for the whole movie because it is doesn't. It is mostly a conventionally edited movie with strong composition and great late '60s style. Which is reason enough to watch this movie. However, watching how this type of editing techniques being used is like watching a tight rope walker, juggling, without a net. Bold.

PS. I haven't done one of these in a while but I have a feeling that I will in the near future, things are changing around the "old Republic" aka Gorilla Productions...

Low Cost Freelance Post is like Driving without Insurance

If your not listening to the Freakonomics Podcast your missing out on some interesting insight.

This recent episode of Freakonomics Radio was an interesting one about customer service which is what a good freelance editor delivers ontop of the technical and artistic skills. The Social scientist prove what most in our industry almost always fail to appreciate, cost and quality are related. 

When I get request for a quote occasionally some potential clients will inquire, "why is your quote and rate higher than.." Then, I explain that it's usually a worst case scenario guestimate, factoring in some contengency time and trying to anticipate some problems that has occured in my past experiences.

About my rate, I use the analogy of a general contractor quoting for some work on your house. "Never use the cheapest quote, that guy is usually the problem/unexperienced craftsmen."

Unfortunatly, sometimes some clients don't take my advice and the outcome is usually not satisfatory and they inquire a few months later with a request for a Fix-this-mess-Quote. 

Invest in your post.

Guidestones ep 29 Post BTS or Trust thy Editor

The Guidestones project has been a getting lots of great reviews. If you haven't checked it out. Join.
I give it my "Sopranos recommend", watch 3 epidosdes and if you hate it, stop watching. it's not for you.

My previous Blog post about the Guidestones postproduction got me some great verbal feedback (write something in the comments if you like this or hate it). People seemed to enjoy getting a behind the scenes look at the process. So, when I got an episode to post up on my reel I decided to go back through my notes and communications with the director about episode 35 (officially released as Episode 29 in the series) and give some more info on the Behind the scenes of a low budget post process, the story end of it anyways.

Because Jay Ferguson, the director/producer, was around the globe shooting, we used the email for notes/feedback. I would assemble and rough cut based on the script, try to sort out any tech or MIA footage with the post crew. Then post up a locked Vimeo version of my cuts for him to screen from wherever hotel/motel he was in the world. 

gs 35.1 from Anthony K Baird on Vimeo.

So, I initiated my search for Guidestones notes episode 35 (released as ep 29)... "nothing". Curious.

I am an email hoarder, so I went my backup email program that I use as a catch all/archive... "nothing". Well, technically not nothing. This email:

Date 17 April, 2011 8:32:27 PM EDT

"This is cool....toss some dramatic music in and we should see what happens....do we need a couple feet / blurry running shots? At the end?"
J

If anybody knows Jay, he isn't a man of few words. So, I looked at the early episode notes (ep. 1-8), to compare. There was lots of back and forth for the first 2 episodes but a significant falloff on volume after those episodes. The notes transformed or evolved into a more coach on the sidelines of a game style or even better it was more like a conductor of an orchestra; "Faster", "Slower", "Good". 

GS Ep 35.3 from Anthony K Baird on Vimeo.

At some point in the process most of my successful projects have had this type of relationship. Trust.

A good director/client after the "tonal" tweaks of the beginning starts conducting not micro managing a.k.a. "use this shot", "cut that head move out" , (insert your favorite post production cliche). They trust you to put forth the best shots, performance even reference music. Not Blind Trust but a confidence that your choices are valid.

I have been a little lucky and I realize now that I seek out that type off relationship and if my gut tells me that this is not going to be that type of situation. I walk away. And in all fairness, me and Jay have worked together for a while, so this type of Trusting collaboration happens a little earlier in the process. Or in this case, I can jump in as the process has already started. (see previous blog).

So, when you look at the evolution of the episodes cuts ,you don't see the obvious drastic changes in alternate cuts, but the more critical eye can see the subtle tweaks, push and pull in the story and pace. More importantly you still see that the essence of the episodes and its initial rough cut story. The tone is still in there (my responsibility on this project). The color on the walls of the house has changed but the support beams have not been touched.

A things that I thought were interesting: Final is 1 minute shorter than rough but pacing is the same, music tone changes feel of final scenes and reaction shots change interaction of characters (I think if you watch the series you'll get it). Here is the final episode.
 
 

GS S1e29 from Anthony K Baird on Vimeo.

As a filmmaker, I find this type of subtle comparison more helpful than the wacky scene that obviously doesn't work that was left on the cutting room floor (see Bill Paxton scene in Aliens).